GENERAL ZOOLOGY (LAB)
connective tissue, epithelial tissue,
Properties of Life and the
Characteristics of Animals
Properties of Life
 Biology is the study of living things.
Biology has been battling three
challenges since it was founded: What
are the similar characteristics that make
something "alive"? And how do we find
acceptable levels of organization in
something's structure after we know it's
alive? In the end, given the astounding
variety of life, how do we classify the
various types of organisms so that we
can more effectively comprehend them?
Biologists strive to seek answers to these
and other problems as new organisms are
found daily.
 Order, sensitivity or response to the
environment, reproduction, growth and
development, regulation, homeostasis,
and energy processing are among the
characteristics associated with all living
species. These nine elements contribute
to the essence of life when considered
together.
 In the discipline of biology, there are
some characteristics that have been
broadly agreed upon to explain life.
Order, sensitivity or response to the
environment, reproduction, adaptation,
growth and development, regulation,
homeostasis, energy processing, and
evolution are all characteristics of all
living species. These nine elements assist
in defining life when regarded properly.
Organization
 Living things are very structured, which
means they are made up of specialized,
coordinated elements. All organisms are
composed of consisting of one or more
cells, which serve as the basic building
blocks of life.
 Even unicellular organisms are
complicated! Atoms combine to form
molecules, which then combine to form
cell organelles and structures. Similar
cells form tissues in multicellular
organisms. Tissues, in turn, work
together to form organs (body structures
that serve a specific purpose). Organs
collaborate to produce organ systems.
 Humans and other multicellular
organisms are made up of numerous
cells. Multicellular creatures' cells can be
differentiated to perform certain tasks
and are arranged into tissues such as
muscle, and nerve tissue. Tissues form
organs such as the heart and lungs, which
provide functions for the organism
throughout its entirety.
Metabolism
 Thousands of connected chemical
processes are needed for life to continue
functioning. These responses let
organisms carry out work, such as travel
around or capture prey, and they also
grow, reproduce, and preserve the
physical makeup of their bodies. In order
to carry out the chemical reactions that
maintain life, living things must produce
energy and absorb nutrients. The sum of
an organism's biological reactions is
referred to as its metabolism. Organisms
consume energy to sustain their
metabolic processes. It is the sum of all
chemical activity in the body. Some
species effectively catch sunlight and
change it into chemical energy; others
apply chemical energy to molecules they
consume as food.
 Metabolism has been split into two parts:
anabolism and catabolism. In anabolism,
organisms construct more complicated
substances from less complicated ones,
whereas catabolism does the opposite.
Catabolic processes can render saved
energy available, whereas anabolic
processes commonly burn energy.
Homeostasis

Multiple structures exist in organisms to
preserve an excellent interior
environment. Even the tiniest organisms
are complicated, needing the use of
many systems of regulation to manage
internal activities, respond to stimuli, and
cope with environmental challenges.
Nutrient transfer and the flow of blood
are two physiological activities that are
controlled in an organism. Organs
GENERAL ZOOLOGY (LAB)
(groups of tissues that operate together)
communicate oxygen around the body,
remove waste, give nutrition to every
cell, and regulate body temperature.
Cells require specific parameters for
them to operate properly, such as the
proper temperature, pH, and
concentration of various substances.
However, these factors may alter from
one moment to the next.
 By homeostasis (literally, "steady state"),
a living thing's capacity to sustain
consistent internal environments,
organisms can maintain their internal
conditions within a certain limit,
constantly, despite external alterations.

Growth
 DNA-encoded information regulates
how organisms evolve and develop as
they mature. All organisms execute
instructions written in their genes. The
genes supply instructions that control
cellular growth and development, which
guarantees the children receive their
parents' features. Living organisms grow
in a controlled manner. Individual cells
grow in size, and multicellular organisms
gather a vast number of cells during cell
division. You began as a single cell and
have grown to have tens of trillions of
cells in your body. Anabolic processes
are responsible for the formation of
large, complex molecules such as
proteins and DNA, the genetic material.

Reproduction
 Living organisms are capable of
reproducing to generate new organisms.
Reproduction can be asexual (with a
single-parent organism) or sexual (with
two parents). Single-celled organisms,
such as the dividing bacteria illustrated
in the left panel of the image on the right,
can reproduce by essentially splitting in
two!

 In sexual reproduction, two parent

organisms construct sperm and egg cells
having fifty percent of their genetic
information, which blend to create a new
individual with a complete genetic set.
The illustration on the far right depicts
this process, known as fertilization.

Response
